December 25, 2003

• Hungry?

  After tonight's Christmas Eve service, my stomach grumbled. Usually
  this would lead me to daydream about food or give a mild
  complaint about being hungry, but tonight I thanked God. I felt blessed
  to be hungry. When was the last time your heart was filled with
  gratitude when you were hungry?

  My roommate tells me that I was quite livid yesterday. I woke up
  with a bad case of diarrhea that just persisted throughout the day. I
  spent most of tuesday in bed but couldn't sleep. Between
  headaches, fluctuations between feeling extremely hot and extremely
  cold, and major stomach pains ... all I could do was lie down and wait
  for this tortuous day to pass. Even the Gatorade I drank just came out
  in the form of a painful vomit. Now I understand why some people
  suffering from severe food poisoning wish death at times. I haven't
  eaten in the past 2 days, and tonight was the first time I even sensed
  any hint of hunger.

  Have you considered that physical hunger and spiritual hunger are
  both gifts from God? For someone who loves to eat, I've thought
  about this many times before ... in the past two days, these thoughts
  were given flesh.  Just as physical hunger is a sign of physical
  health, spiritual hunger is a sign of spiritual health. Sickness dulls
  physical hunger just as sin dulls spiritual hunger. It is a gift of God to be hungry for God!!
  For those who are sick of "looking for food in all the wrong places",
  consider that it is God who sparks this hunger in us and is the only
  one who deeply satisfies. God not only began a good work in us but with
  bring it to completion (phil 1:6). He is the author and perfector of
  our faith (heb 12:2).

  Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
    and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
  Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
                                                
  ~Isaiah 55:1-2

  For those who know Christ as their Lord and Saviour, let us always
  be hungry for God. For those who don't ...  I believe that there
  is a growing spiritual hunger in America but many still sing along with
  Justine Bateman's "ain't got no, satisfaction". As a people, we've been
  looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places, sometimes at a very
  high cost. Look to the God who will satisfy. Merry Christmas!!

  • 5:10 am
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